Encouraging kids to play creatively and imaginatively is so critical to a child’s development. When playing and imagining kids are developing their creativity, as well as working on their social, emotional, and intellectual development.

By providing a safe play environment, as well as open-ended play time, we can help to encourage creative play in our children. This gift guide for kids includes toys that can help inspire creative play in your child. Many are our favorites we already have here at home that I’m excited to share with you. Others are on our wish list! (This list contains affiliate links.)

50 Gift Ideas for Kids to Inspire Creative Play

Pretend Play Toys

1. KidKraft Vintage Kitchen: Isn’t this one of the cutest play kitchens you’ve seen? We have some friends that have this one, and they love it!

2. Plan Toy Tea Set: This would be the perfect addition to any play kitchen. I love that it’s made from solid wood!

3. Melissa & Doug Deluxe Puppet Theater: The kids got this as a gift from their Grandma last year and love it! It’s such a fun way to promote creative play. Lucy is always making her own puppets and putting on shows for us!

5. Elves and Angels Julianna Kitchen Set: This kitchen set was originally given to Lucy by her Grandmommy and Grandbuddy when she was younger. It’s still a favorite! We are always getting yummy meals cooked and served to us! It’s absolutely beautiful and is solid wood!

9. Learning Resources Pretend & Play School Set: Lucy is so in love with this! She plays school all the time when she has friends over and uses this frequently. And if she has no friends over and her little brother is an unwilling student, she sets up all her stuffed animals and teaches them!

15. Single Playsilk: We have quite a few of these play silks. There’s just so many possibilities for these! Ours are frequently tied to make capes and princess skirts, sometimes our blue one becomes a pond for animals, and we always love using them for movement activities during music time!

20. Haba Fantasy Blocks: Lucy received these as a gift when she was just a baby, and they are now a favorite of Theo’s. Every kid needs a set of blocks, and these are just beautiful and so fun to create with!

21. B. Stackadoos: When Lucy was a toddler, we were visiting a store that had these set up for kids to play with. We couldn’t get her to leave! So many fun colors and shapes to build with! Over the years we’ve bought these and added a few more sets. Always a hit with the kids!

22. LEGO Green Building Plate: I am desperately wanting to buy 9 of these to build a Lego wall! How fun would that be for your house or classroom? I’ve also seen some fun ways on Pinterest that you can create little Lego tables for the kids with these.

23. LEGO Ultimate Building Set : Lucy has entered the world of Legos! We started her out with this set and have been adding to it ever since.

24. Tegu Tints Explorer 40 Piece Set: Not only are these blocks absolutely beautiful, but they’re magnetic~ adding a whole new element to play! Definitely on our wish list for this year!

25. Mega Bloks Big Building Bag: This is one of Theo’s favorite materials to build with. He likes to create towers, houses, and cars and then play with his little worlds he’s created.

28. Holztiger Wooden Rooster: This is our favorite brand of wooden animals! We have quite a few, and they are so much fun for small world play! Each year we add a few more to our collection. This year I’m wanting this rooster and some other farm animals!

29. Mommy & Me My First Doll Stroller: Lucy and Theo both LOVED pushing their dolls and stuffed animals around in the stroller. Such a great item to inspire creative play!

Toys for Creative Play Outdoors

35. Silk Rainbow Streamer: This has been a fun toy in our home for a few years. I put it in the outdoor category because the kids usually are running around outside with it, but of course it makes a great toy for creative play indoors as well!

36. Toysmith Nature Kaleidoscope Kit: We actually don’t own this, but have given it as a gift to a few friends at birthday parties. I can see my kids playing with this frequently~ especially when they’re imaging they’re pirates!

37. Radio Flyer Kid’s Wheelbarrow: We love our wheelbarrow! The kids have used it as a garden bed, a rock garden, and of course, to carry things all around the yard!

38. Step2 WaterWheel Activity Play Table: This is the water table we’ve had for years (that you’ve probably also seen on many blog posts on Pinterest). It’s perfect for creative play because it has two separate sides allowing all kinds of water and small world play. Recently we used it for our pumpkin patch small world!

39. Enchanted Fairy Garden Kit: We love fairy gardens! This would make a great kit to introduce children to the joy and fun of fairy gardens!

41. Remo Kids Percussion: Lucy’s music teacher had these in her music class. Such a good quality and fun for the kids.

42. Blue Owl Wooden Jingle Bells: This is on our wish list. Our music collection is lacking in jingle bells, and I love the bright colors of this one!

43. Glockenspiel with Songbook: Here’s another musical instrument we love~ the glockenspiel! Of course the kids love playing music on it and performing, but it’s also been a great learning toy. They love taking it apart and putting it back together!

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Welcome to Buggy and Buddy! I'm Chelsey, a former teacher and parent living on the central coast of California. I love sharing crafts, science, STEM and STEAM activities, free printables and more! Read More…